Lewis set for final case as Kevin Whately and Laurence Fox bow out | Television & radio | The Guardian Lewis set for final case as Kevin Whately and Laurence Fox bow out ITV confirms long-running Morse spin-off will end with two-part episode concluding next week Laurence Fox as James Hathaway and Kevin Whately as Robert Lewis. The pair have played the roles for almost 10 years. Photograph: ITV Press Association Monday 2 November 2015 12.51 EST Last modified on Monday 2 November 2015 13.05 EST Close This article is 1 year old Lewis stars Kevin Whately and Laurence Fox are to bow out of the popular crime drama after nearly 10 years. ITV confirmed Lewis would end with a two-part episode called What Lies Tangled. The first part will be broadcast on Tuesday, and it will conclude next Tuesday. Whately said: “I feel incredibly fortunate to have shared a decade of fantastic worldwide success with Laurence and with the most brilliant crew, cast and production team anyone could wish for, and all that time with the loyal support of so many fans and of our backers ITV and WGBH Boston. Thanks everybody.

What a ride it has been!” The Northumberland-born actor first played the role of Lewis in 1987, opposite the late John Thaw in the ITV drama Inspector Morse. Its spin-off, Lewis, premiered in 2006 with Fox – a member of the famous acting dynasty that includes his father James, uncle Edward and cousins Emilia and Freddie – as James Hathaway. Who's the best new TV cop: River's Nicola Walker or Unforgotten's Nicola Walker? Read more Set five years after the death of his long-term partner Morse, Lewis found himself teamed up with a much younger partner, and reporting to a new boss in the form of Ch Supt Jean Innocent (Rebecca Front). Fox said: “What an extraordinary 10 years. I feel so lucky to have worked with absolutely the best crew in the business on Lewis. I will really miss hanging out with Kev for half the year. I am, however, fairly confident that he will not miss my flawless Geordie accent between takes.

Thank you so much for watching and supporting us.” What Lies Tangled, written by Nick Hicks-Beach and directed by David Drury, opens with an idyllic Oxford summer day being blighted by a parcel bomb. Lewis is in a race against time not only to find a killer, but also to save his career and his relationship. The final episode also includes series regular Angela Griffin as DS Lizzie Maddox. Executive producer Michele Buck said: “To have produced the same amount of films as Morse is an honour. I will miss Lewis.” ITV’s director of drama, Steve November, said: “It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to Robbie Lewis, one of ITV’s most loved and enduring characters. We owe Kevin a huge debt of gratitude for nearly 30 fantastic years of Morse and Lewis, and, of course, many thanks too to Laurence Fox, who has been by Kevin’s side for the last 10 years. “We respect their decision not to continue into a further series and wish them the very best for whatever comes next.” Lewis to end in way Inspector Morse bowed out - Mirror Online Lewis: James Hathaway quits over a pint Share Get celebs updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe Thank you for subscribing!

Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email TV cop Lewis sips a final pint with his sergeant by the Thames in a poignant reflection of predecessor Morse’s farewell. It comes in the last scene of hit ITV detective show Lewis, when DS James Hathaway, played by Laurence Fox, announces he is leaving the force. The episode features a replica of Morse’s last scenes in 2000, when Lewis (Kevin Whately) nursed an orange juice as his boss, played by John Thaw, broke the news he was quitting. And it goes on air almost 11 years to the day since the much-loved Sweeney actor died of cancer, aged 60. Morse set up Lewis as a spin-off and it has been on TV for over six years, pulling in up to 11 million viewers. One source said: “The ending is a beautiful and brilliant nod to the past and to where Lewis came from.” Both actors in the lead roles, Fox and Whately, have hinted this will be the last series. And the decision to walk away from the show was taken by them jointly. Morse code: Final scene is tinged with sadness Whately said earlier this month: “I think we need a break.

“We said to ITV last November that we’d like to stop. They said, ‘We’re not killing you’. So this series comes to a kind of stop.” The door is open for a comeback and there are vague plans for some episodes to be filmed in 2014. In the meantime Fox is moving to America with wife Billie Piper and their two sons for a crack at Hollywood. The last episode of Lewis airs on ITV1 on February 11 at 9pm. Like us on Facebook Most Read Most Recent Most Read Most Recent Lewis: Intelligent Design, part two, ITV, review - Telegraph TV and Radio reviews Lewis: Intelligent Design, part two, ITV, review Sameer Rahim reviews Intelligent Design, the final ever episode of Lewis, the Inspector Morse spin-off starring Kevin Whately. 4 End of an era: Laurence Fox and Kevin Whately stars in the last ever episode of Inspector Morse spin-off series Lewis. Follow The first appearance of Sergeant Lewis (as he then was) on British television was in the Inspector Morse mystery “The Dead of Jericho” in 1987.

Kevin Whately’s final performance as Inspector Lewis (ITV) was 26 years later in last night’s concluding part of “Intelligent Design”. Lewis did not bow out with a tragic death-scene as Morse did at the end of the original series in 2000, but by retiring to spend more time eating takeaways with his pathologist girlfriend Laura (Clare Holman). It was a fitting end to a character who has never quite emerged from the shadow of the charismatic, irascible Morse, played so superbly by John Thaw. In the first part of “Intelligent Design” we saw Lewis flicking through some opera records belonging to his old boss. He stopped at Wagner’s Lohengrin, the tale of a heroic knight who rescues a princess. Scribbled on the sleeve was “At least give it a try. M” – a touching reminder of the teacher-pupil dynamic between the two men. Naturally, Lewis never played the record: he was more of an Elgar man. Like so many of the others, the final case was based at an Oxford college.

A day after he was released from prison for killing a girl while drink driving, a scientist was run over by his own car (a Jaguar Mark Two – another nod to Morse). His vicar wife immediately suspected the sister of the dead girl but Lewis and his assistant Hathaway (Laurence Fox) were not so quick to jump to conclusions. What about the scientist’s steely blonde protégé or her shifty husband? Lewis was perfect detective fare: you barely had time to make a cup of tea before the next body turned up, and it always made Oxford look enchanting. The banter between the detective duo was as comforting as a warm bath and the cameo performances (here, Edward Fox as a deliciously uptight master)were always excellent. The recent decision to split the mystery into two hour-long episodes, broadcast a week apart, also meant you didn’t have to give up your entire evening. I can’t be the only one, though, who missed Morse. Kevin Whately was always a slightly plodding straight man and though he undoubtedly gained gravitas with age – rather resembling a St Bernard – he was fundamentally a nice guy. Hathaway took the hothead role, previously occupied by Morse.

In this episode he aggressively questioned a boy who later committed suicide. He was so troubled by this incident that he also retired from the police. So one thing’s for sure: we won’t be settling down to a Hathaway spin-off. But the ghost of Morse hasn’t entirely be laid to rest. Endeavour, starring Shaun Evans as a young Morse solving crimes in Sixties Oxford, will return later this year. Related Articles Meet ‘Inspector Lewis’: Kevin Whately on ‘Morse,’ John Thaw, and the End of the Series - The Daily Beast Courtesy of Robert Day/ITV Studios for Masterpiece Inspector Lewis Meet ‘Inspector Lewis’: Kevin Whately on ‘Morse,’ John Thaw, and the End of the Series Kevin Whately has been playing gruff, sensible detective Robbie Lewis on ‘Morse’ and ‘Lewis’ for 26 years. Jace Lacob speaks to him about the possible end of the Oxford copper. 06.14.13 8:45 AM ET Inspector Lewis is due for a vacation. After more than 20 years playing Detective Inspector Robert “Robbie” Lewis, actor Kevin Whately has earned a well-deserved break from investigating murders beneath the Oxford spires.

Introduced in Inspector Morse’s first episode (“The Dead of Jericho”), Whately’s Robbie Lewis was the Geordie sidekick of the late John Thaw’s erudite and perpetually cranky Inspector Morse before becoming the lead of his own spinoff, Lewis. While Whately has a slew of roles on his résumé—he also starred in British drama Peak Practice and comedy Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, as well as countless other projects, including The English Patient—Robbie Lewis is the role still most closely associated with the 62-year-old actor. He has played the gruff detective from 1987 to 2000 on Morse and from 2006 to the present on Inspector Lewis . The much loved show returns for its sixth (or seventh, if you’re going by the ITV ordering ), and possibly final, season on PBS’ Masterpiece Mystery on Sunday, a season that finds Lewis and his partner, Cambridge-educated Detective Sergeant James Hathaway ( Laurence Fox ), grappling with change, uncertainty, and possibly even a happy ending of sorts.

The Daily Beast caught up with Whately earlier this month during his protracted hiatus from Inspector Lewis to discuss the challenges of playing a role for more than two decades, the romance between Robbie Lewis and medical examiner Laura Hobson (Clare Holman), why he tried to turn down Lewis, and what’s next for the Oxford sleuth. You've been extremely outspoken about your need for a potential hiatus from the series. What are the challenges of playing Robbie Lewis for 26 years? Kevin Whately: Every now and then, you suddenly realize you've asked the same question probably 50 times before: “Where were you last night?” We have wonderful writers, but you can't think of a different way to do it, or a different corner to come out of, and you do need a break. I've just recently worked out that I haven't had a summer off for 31 years, which is half my life. So I want a year off for real. And it happened to coincide with Laurence [Fox] saying he wanted to come over and do pilot season over here, but he's actually doing a lot of fathering instead.

Why do you think the popularity of the Oxford trinity—Lewis, Morse, and now prequel Endeavour—continues to endure? Whately: I think it's mostly to do with Oxford. Oxford has a slightly mythical rep, particularly for people who haven't been there. I think it’s a bit like Harvard or Yale over here: that they're seats of great learning and you imagine that there are these genius people that could work out absolutely wonderful murder plots that they could get away with. But it's so photogenic that I think that that plays a much bigger part in it probably than any of the actors. To a certain extent, once a show, or the characters, have been running for this length of time, it's a bit like The Mousetrap, people are so comfortable with it, perhaps, that they just enjoy the familiarity of it. The chalk-and-cheese partnership is fairly common on TV these days. What makes Lewis and Hathaway’s dynamic so unique? Is it the juxtaposition of Geordie straightforwardness with lofty intellectualism? Whately: I suspect it's that.

It's very similar to the Morse/Lewis relationship: [Hathaway’s] got a quite exceptional brain, where Lewis is the plodding man of the world and knows his way around. There is definitely a bit of father/son dynamic involved with it. But I think that sort of chemistry is always intangible. You can have actors that get on absolutely great and the chemistry doesn't work on screen and vice-versa. Laurence and I are very lucky in that we get on well and the chemistry seems to work. But, if I knew why, I'd be a zillionaire! One of the most surprising threads from the last seven seasons was the Robbie/Laura romance. Were you resistant to having the two get together, or was it the right time for Lewis to finally stop being the lonely widower? I was totally resistant to it because I always thought that the minute that happened, it was likely to become soapy! It was something the executive producers said a long time ago: “Oh, they must get together in the end.” But we left it until this year, [and] I think it works quite well the way Lucy Gannon's written it. I was pleased with it.

Is it true that you nearly turned down Lewis? Whately: I did several times. Eventually, they sent Ted Childs, the old executive producer [of Morse], and Chris Burt, who had produced the last few Morse films, along for lunch. And they both said, “Look, ITV aren't going to leave you alone. You might as well try one.” I didn't think it was a very good idea, to be honest. Of course, once we did one and it took off, we were back on the moving train, and I've been very grateful for it. I've enjoyed it a lot. But, yeah, I was hugely resistant to it. Get The Beast In Your Inbox! Daily DigestStart and finish your day with the top stories from The Daily Beast. Cheat SheetA speedy, smart summary of all the news you need to know (and nothing you don't). By clicking "Subscribe," you agree to have read the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Subscribe Thank You! You are now subscribed to the Daily Digest and Cheat Sheet. We will not share your email with anyone for any reason What were your initial reservations? I just thought that my character wasn't a sharp enough character to lead a series.

He’s quite a downbeat character and he was invented more as a sounding board for an extraordinary character, the Morse one, as Morse's Dr. Watson, really. And I was a bit worried that it would be laughed out of court. But I do like the character. I do respect his morals. Did you ever anticipate that Lewis would run as long as it has? Not at all. As I say, it feels like a moving train, because we kept a lot of the crew from Morse and our crew has stayed almost the same throughout the seven or eight years we've been doing it. You feel a responsibility for all of them, as well as to ITV, who are selling it round the world and viewers everywhere, to keep going. How much has Robbie changed since you first started playing him in 1987? Another thing that I found difficult, starting with Lewis, was that he had always been a fairly happy-go-lucky, down to earth character and they wanted to turn him into more of a curmudgeon like Morse, I suppose, and I thought that was slightly forced onto me. I'm not that at ease playing a grump.

But I did enjoy the last couple [episodes] where Robbie was more fun-loving and getting back into real life. VIDEO EMBED: It appears as though Robbie will leave the police force at the end of the season. Can a copper like Robbie Lewis ever truly retire? I don't know, but it's difficult. There was a very popular series [in the U.K.] with a 70-year-old actor playing a cop, and I don't want to be still playing [Robbie] when I'm 70, because you have to retire at 60 and everybody knows that. So, at some point soon, he's got to stop. To be in the regular police force at 70 isn't really on. Is this the end then, or do you think you could possibly come back to the character in 2014? I think we might, as we did with Morse, do the odd one or two [specials], but I don't want to go on spending six months each year filming it, and I don't think Laurence does either.

I think Laurence wants to do different things, and I remember exactly how I felt at his age with Morse and I think it's probably healthy if we do some, as ITV wants them, but not keep hammering them out. It is quite difficult to get 90-minute stories together each year, four of them, and to find writers with the ideas. Possibly, two would be a lot easier. Looking back at the last 26 years, what is your fondest memory of working with John Thaw on Morse? Mostly just sitting with John . We always shared a caravan from the word go, because that's what John had done in his previous series, The Sweeney, with Dennis Waterman. John was quite a shy man, and I was very shy myself at the time. So it took us two years to become pals. But he was the best company, John. He was a great storyteller and I learnt everything from him, about screen acting and technique; he was a wonderful actor. He had the most fantastic voice, which was another reason why I didn't really want to spin Lewis off. My voice isn't half the voice that John Thaw's was, and it was a really important part of his makeup.

He could do extraordinary things with it. With Lewis and Hathaway, you stepped into the role of sort of the wise elder, a reversal of the Morse/Lewis dynamic. How is your partnership with Laurence different than with John? Laurence isn't nearly as respectful of me as I was of John. In fact, quite the opposite! He's a completely different character. He's a live wire, Laurence: very, very intelligent and he can keep a whole unit bubbling along. He's very good at keeping a running gag going, a different one with every single member of the crew. He keeps everything sparky, which is very useful. But, yeah, he has no respect for me whatever. What are you doing this summer, now that you finally have some time off? Mostly whacking golf balls into bushes. I'm the captain of the Variety Club over in England, and so I'm playing golf for them once a week but doing odd bits. I've done a stage show up in Newcastle and the odd day of filming, dramatized documentaries. But I'm not doing any drama filming at all. I'm not going to.

If this does end up marking the end of Lewis, what do you hope that fans take away from this character's journey these past 26 years? People talk about it to me a lot. You suddenly realize that you have been a part of their lives for 26 years in the corner of their sitting rooms and it's quite touching how much it means to people, how much they've enjoyed your work. You're very aware in the theater by the response you get, but not so much on television, obviously. People are very appreciative, and I'm always thrilled at how long the Morse films have lasted. They seem to have an afterlife that goes on and on for decades, which is touching. READ THIS LIST Robbie Lewis | Inspector Morse Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Edit Detective Inspector Robert Lewis, known as Robbie, is a fictional character created by Colin Dexter in the Inspector Morse series of books and TV series of the same name. Many years later, Lewis gained a spin-off series of his own following the death of the leading character. The character is played by Kevin Whately.

In Inspector Morse, Lewis is sidekick to the main character, Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse and together they work for the Thames Valley Police in Oxford, England where he is shown to be an honest, hardworking, and earnest policeman and is still only a Detective Sergeant. He has appeared in all but one episode of Inspector Morse, The Wench is Dead, although the character exists in the novel. Lewis is also a Geordie - that is, from Newcastle and also a working class, and married to Valerie Susan Lewis with kids. His wife appears only once in the TV series, in an episode called Greeks Bearing Gifts, where they are seen together in a restauraunt. She is later killed in a hit-and-run accident, five years after the death of Morse himself. Lewis reveals in the first ever episode, that his birthday is around the 13th-20th June. Towards the end of Inspector Morse, Lewis takes a promotion and makes one final appearance in the last episode, The Remorseful Day, when Morse has a heart attack and later dies in hospital.

Morse says, "Thank Lewis for me." Inspector Morse (TV and novels) Edit Lewis is a sergeant on the staff of the Thames Valley Police in Oxford, England, and in Inspector Morse is assistant to the titular Detective Chief Inspector Morse. Morse's given name (Endeavour) was kept secret until the end of the series and thus he is almost universally referred to only by his family name. Similarly, although Lewis's given name of Robert (Robbie) was not kept secret, he was rarely referred to as anything but "Sergeant Lewis" or "Lewis." The background and personality of Lewis - a working class, easygoing family man with a Geordie accent - is frequently contrasted with that of Morse - Oxford educated, RP-accented, lifetime bachelor. Morse frequently uses these differences to insult or demean Lewis, perhaps from Morse's point of view in a playful manner, but Lewis is often not amused by the jabs. In his frustration, Lewis is often more in step with their joint superior Chief Superintendent Jim Strange, himself an evident supporter of Lewis; however, despite a great respect towards Strange, Lewis is always unflinchingly loyal to Morse and follows his lead.

One notable difference between the Lewis from the novels and Whately's portrayal is that Lewis in the novels is an older man in his early sixties. When Whately auditioned for the role and then learned this fact, he considered it unlikely that he would get the part. However, Colin Dexter has consistently stated that the younger Lewis is an improvement on the character he originally created, and that if he could start the novels afresh he would begin with Lewis as he is seen in the television adaptation. In Inspector Morse, Lewis is often shown following a hunch that Morse criticises, and in the end Lewis is usually proved correct, or at least more correct than Morse. Near the end of the television series, Lewis moves on in his career and takes a promotion. With the end of Inspector Morse and the death of its star, John Thaw, Lewis's adventures had seemed to come to an end. In the episode "The Dead of Jericho", Lewis tells Morse "It's also my birthday". The first victim is killed on June 11, and this utterance occurs a few days to a week later. This puts Lewis' birthday in mid-June.

Lewis does not make an appearance in the episode "The Wench is Dead", as he is out of town on an inspector's course. Lewis Edit In this episode, Lewis returns to Oxford from a two-year stint training police in the British Virgin Islands, following the death of his wife Valerie in a car accident. Lewis still must work partly in the shadow of the now-five-years-dead Inspector Morse, who some time prior to his death had worked a case involving one of the murder suspects as a juvenile. In the new series, Lewis gains his own junior, Detective Sergeant James Hathaway, a Cambridge-educated man who joined the police after giving up training for the priesthood. His relationship with Dr Laura Hobson (from the original Morse series) is also explored. Personality and appearance Edit Lewis was originally a fresh-faced, happy-go-lucky detective sergeant who was Morse's sidekick. He was often the cheerful one while Morse was the grumpy and sometimes patronizing one. In the books he is originally an older man in his early sixties and Welsh instead of a northern Geordie. This was changed to suit the TV adaptation and even Colin Dexter, the author has said that Kevin Whately's portrayal of Lewis is better than the one he created.

Lewis was happily married to his wife Valerie with two young children but this changed after the end of Inspector Morse and in his own spin-off series, Lewis, he looks destined to go the same way as his former boss and go through a series of relationships that were almost certainly not going to work out. Lewis is also older and wiser with a face that looks like its been lived in and appears to be more quieter and vulnerable and a lot sadder. However, he does appear to be more cheerful when long-time pathologist Doctor Laura Hobson is around yet none of them appear to want to admit that they are more than just friends and collegues. Robbie is completely severed. Relationships Edit Lewis with Inspector Morse as a Sergeant Lewis' relationship with Inspector Morse is what any relationship with a DCI should be. Lewis totally respects Morse, although Morse does get angry quickly if Lewis talks about anything but investigation matters. Lewis proves to be a hardworking, honest and respectful DS and does anything Morse orders him to. Lewis worked with Morse up until 2000, when Morse eventually died after having heart attack in hospital. Lewis eventually moved on in his career and took a promotion, before moving to the Virgin Islands after the death of his wife.

It seemed that for some time, Lewis would end up just like his former boss - clearly lonely and having a string of failed romances. DS James Hathaway Edit Lewis with his new romance, Dr Laura Hobson Lewis first met Dr Laura Hobson in the 1995 episode, The Way Through the Woods, in which she arrives to take Dr Russell's place as pathologist. Both of them are much younger and there's a chance that both of them would have been suited to one another had Lewis not still been married at the time. They maintained a close, professional working relationship from the start although no doubt none of them had idea that they would one end up getting together. After the death of Morse, Lewis' wife Val dies and his children fly the nest, leaving the detective pretty much on his own. He spends two years in the British Virgin Islands training police and he arrives back to find that the Oxfordshire Police has changed considerably since his departure. His new boss, Jean Innocent is quite happy enough to send him on a police training course and for him to pass on his knowledge to younger police cadets and seemed to think that Lewis wasn't much good anymore.

Hobson is still there and hasn't appeared to have done much in terms of career move and she appears to provide some comfort to Lewis who is still grieving for his wife, Val, killed in a hit-and-run accident. The case remains unsolved until series three. It is Hathaway who finds out who actually killed Val in the accident. It is mainly until series four that they are forced to admit that there may be some added attraction between them and this continues right up until the very end, when in series seven, they get together in the episode, The Ramblin' Boy, originally split into two parts. Before that in series six, Lewis had to tend with DI Alan Peterson, who is considerably younger than him. Hathaway points out that Peterson will be Chief Constable one day and Lewis comments that he'll be retired by then. Alan asked Laura out to dinner in the last episode of series six, only for her to reveal to Lewis that Peterson is not her type of man. This implies that the pair still have feelings for one another.

In the final episode of series seven and potential final episode, Lewis and Hobson are shown to be in a romantic relationship and are seen having dinner together in the second of the two parter, Intelligent Design. In the first episode of that two parter, Lewis reveals to Laura that he is considering retirement and she thinks that it is about time. The pair nearly kiss and are interrupted. Lewis is adjusting to being in a relationship with Laura after all these years of will-they-won't they? but admits it is a good strange. In series eight, Laura appears to be ill at ease at the idea of Lewis returning to the force but she soon comes to terms with the idea and fully supports his decision to rejoin. Lewis, episode one, series seven, ITV1, review - Telegraph TV and Radio reviews Lewis, episode one, series seven, ITV1, review Daisy Bowie-Sell reviews the first episode of the final series of ITV1's spin-off from detective drama Inspector Morse. 3 Image 1 of 2 Kevin Whateley as Lewis, Laurence Fox as DS James Hathaway and Sanjeev Baskar as Kanan Dutta.

Follow When Lewis first aired in 2006, 11 million watched the pilot, eager to see if the series could fill the void left by the long-running Inspector Morse. Making Robbie Lewis, once Morse’s Sergeant, into an Inspector was a gamble: there was an intriguing balance met by pairing John Thaw’s curmudgeonly, borderline alcoholic Morse with Kevin Whately ’s clueless, straight-down-the-line, Lewis. Laurence Fox as Sergeant Hathaway - sidekick to Lewis now Lewis was no longer sidekick to Morse - added some spice, but having Lewis in charge was never going to be as fun as when Morse was in the driving seat. Though the programme has never quite matched the thrills of Morse, it has been a constant audience-puller over its six series – with 7-8 million regularly tuning in. But now, after playing the character since 1987, Whately has finally had enough. There have been rumours over the last year that both he and Fox were getting itchy feet, and ITV have now announced this series will be Lewis’s last.

As if preparing for a slow fade (sudden burn out would never be Lewis’s style), each two-hour storyline in the seventh series has been spread across two single one hour slots (shown a week apart), where in the past they would have been broadcast in one evening. This removes one of the joys of the programme – one hour is too short to disappear into one of those improbable, inexplicable storylines. It barely allows you to get a hold on who the characters are, let alone guess whodunnit. But the plot in this first episode was as delightfully bizarre as the best of Lewis. Dodgy Oxford students feature – specifically the victim, a man who, unbeknown to his wife, had been moonlighting as a psychic, duping the recently bereaved into thinking he could talk to their loved ones. There were oddballs-a-dozen, including the wonderfully enigmatic Justine Skinner, played by Beatie Edney. Skinner once poisoned her next door neighbour’s cats with the same drug used to kill the victim and, therefore, is a suspect.

Sanjeev Bhaskar appeared towards the end as assisted dying campaigner Kanan Dutta, who advised Lewis on the murder, and although he featured very little in this episode, it's likely there will be more from him and his gloomy wife in the second episode. There was also mention of a government conspiracy, plenty of red-herrings and a shock cliffhanger to whet the appetite. This was classic Lewis, let down by the frustrating decision to keep us waiting seven days for the follow up. Related Articles "Inspector Lewis" Reputation (2006) Reviews & Ratings - IMDb IMDb 17 January 2017 8:34 AM, PST NEWS 45 out of 47 people found the following review useful: Lewis -- Fine Legacy of Insector Morse Simple message and short .... WE NEED MORE INSPECTOR LEWIS. It's totally in the Morse tradition and rocks. Can we lobby for this to become reality??? I was expecting some sad spin off, but found the plot to be totally compelling in the best tradition of Morse.

The 'hollowed out' character of Lewis, trying to come to terms with his life and the tragedy of his family, set against the 'moving on' of the police world that he knew in Oxford, made compelling viewing. Morse, reaching out from the dead to help Lewis solve the case in this pilot can really be only carried off the one time, but it made for a great introduction to the independent character of Lewis, who has to make sense of Morse's cryptic accidental clues. The TV critics in the press the following day obviously didn't give a damn, but I feel that there could be a very good series here. Was the above review useful to you? 37 out of 39 people found the following review useful: Lewis from United Kingdom 29 January 2006 Can I say what a privilege it was to see this programme. It had everything going for it. It was discreet,sympathetic, but also showed it's originality for the character it was supposed to show. As a lover of "Morse" I thought this programme was well over due. I can understand the break, but Kevin Whately also played such a huge part which we loved.

It's funny, I think back to watching "The Equalizer" when I was younger, I loved the attitude of the character & could see what the actor was giving towards it, Kevin is giving this and more due to the history of things. Well done Kevin, you've done a fantastic job. Please can we see many follow ups to this, this is after-all what we pay our licence for :LoL: I love Dramas & this was the the top of my list. Congratulations Kevin, long may this series continue. Mandie.xxx from Saffron Walden, UK 30 January 2006 For a while, 'Inspector Morse' was the cutting edge of British crime drama, the innovative length (two hours per show), measured pacing and intelligent mood masking the ridiculous plotting, the unfailingly elegant female characters, and the ludicrous body counts (it seemed there was never one murder without a few more waiting in the wings). Then a new wave of programs like 'Prime Suspect' introduced a level of procedural reality that suddenly made Morse seem dated.

But the series retained a certain charm, especially because of the interplay between the characters of Morse himself (the now deceased John Thaw) and his sidekick Lewis (Kevin Whately). When the actor playing 'Taggart' died, the series continued without him but under the same name. The character of Lewis has done one better than Taggart's associates, as his debut in the lead role is at least in an eponymous show. And while the same criticisms that could be thrown at the show's predecessor are still apposite, and Thaw (and the character of Morse he helped define) is a big loss, I enjoyed this program. There's something almost soothing about the world as portrayed here, however far from reality, and several years after the last 'Morse' was made, it seems fresher than might have been expected. Whatley also does a good job at taking on the lead in Thaw's absence, and his partial metamorphosis into his old boss is nicely executed and fun to watch. In 2006, no-one could call this cutting edge TV; but it's good to have it back. Was the above review useful to you?

23 out of 25 people found the following review useful: Nice go at a spin off from Morse. from United Kingdom 29 January 2006 Nice go at a spin off from Morse. I felt this show was well thought out and avoided being to stuck in its obvious heritage. We had some nice touches that related to the current story that gave us a hint of what was and we were left with a positive feeling of what could be. Lewis's new partner had various traits Morse possessed and this created a nice dynamic between them, however the new partner had his own back story that could lead to interesting quirks should another episode be made. I enjoyed the show, well cast, plotted and very well shot. Not Columbo though : ) from Lancashire 29 January 2006 A welcome return for Morse's old sidekick, Robbie Lewis. Lewis, played by Kevin Whately, returns from an overseas secondment and steps straight into the case of a female student shot in a sleep investigation unit. The killer used the key-code of a mathematics student (Danny Griffon, played by Charlie Cox)to enter the unit so he rightly becomes the prime suspect.

Unfortunately for Lewis and his temporary sergeant James 'God botherer' Hathaway (Laurence Fox), Danny appears to have a cast iron alibi, or does he? I'm not going to give anymore away, as there are many people, in the US and elsewhere who have not yet been privileged to see this subtle and highly polished production. Let's hope Kevin Whately agrees to do more episodes. It was well worth the wait. Was the above review useful to you? 16 out of 18 people found the following review useful: An Encouraging Performance by Whately 29 January 2006 *** This review may contain spoilers *** Having seen the advertisements, I was somewhat pessimistic about the return of Sergeant Lewis to our screens. I am an ardent fan of Inspector Morse and, of course, in the original series Lewis worked wonderfully as Morse's sidekick. But I was unconvinced that the character could be developed to assume the lead role. Happily, however, my doubts were proved unfounded. By showing us that his wife has died, the writer (Stephen Churchett) immediately gives Lewis a whole new dimension.

Whereas, previously, he was the everyman to Morse's reflective, sombre, and intriguing character, Lewis has become a deeper thinker with a solemn demeanour. Kevin Whately has handled this transition of character very effectively. Regarding the plot, Lewis: Reputation certainly has the feel of classic Morse. The characters embroiled in the typically gruesome murders are standard fare for Colin Dextor's preoccupation with the upper class and academia of Oxfordshire; the family-owned enterprise fallen on hard times and the embittered lecturer. And, seemingly to remind us that this is far from a departure from Inspector Morse, the backdrop - I believe - is Jesus College. Indeed, Morse lives on in this episode; he evens cracks the case. One hopes, however, that in future episodes, Inspector Lewis - with the solid Laurence Fox as Sergeant Hathaway as his "bag man" - remains the focus of attention, to allow the character to develop in his own right. As a resident of Oxfordshire, it is lovely to see such a celebrated television series set in its picturesque countryside. As usual, the locations are cherry-picked and sumptuous; the Cotswold stone of the Bodleian Library, for instance, looks radiant in the summer sunshine.

There was a minor continuity error in a driving scene but I'll let that slide. It is a shame that Barrington Pheloung's famous theme cannot be reused for the new series, yet his accompanying score floats through this episode, complementing the mood and settings in the usual effortless fashion. All in all, Lewis: Reputation marks the advent of a promising new series, whilst commemorating the memory of an old favourite. Was the above review useful to you? 15 out of 17 people found the following review useful: Excellent from United States 30 July 2006 I've been a fan of the Morse series for the past 20 years...have loved Lewis's character throughout. What a pleasant surprise to see him grow into the Inspector. He's a bit haggard, tired, cynical, which serves him well - what material to work with! The initial show presents him in the light he needs to be shown in and his Sgt will compliment him well. No, this isn't the Morse we knew, but it is who we knew Robbie'd grow into. I think he will continue to give us the continuation of who Morse was, in his own way.

The direction merits applause, it was very much like what we've seen in Morse. It isn't the same,yet is. I think John Thaw would be proud. Bravo - we're waiting for more! Was the above review useful to you? 13 out of 14 people found the following review useful: More ! from United States 31 July 2006 I can't improve on "brainbiter's" comments except to say Robbie (Kevin Whatley)showed great emotional expressions again as he did in the Morse series. You want to be a friend and console him in his loss and explode in quiet anger at the new supervisor. Proud when he shows his hand with the wedding band still worn. How well he brought back the respect and honor due to his lost partner but showed a willingness to accept a new partner even being threatened by a scholarly mind. Well done to you new writers and cast members. I look forward to new shows. How fortunate we are to have Laurence Fox playing DS Hathaway, another believable partner to Inspector Lewis. Was the above review useful to you?

15 out of 19 people found the following review useful: Promising Start 30 January 2006 *** This review may contain spoilers *** There are understandable misgivings when television companies resurrect the ratings winners of yesterday. Morse fans will have been champing at the bit for the Great Return, even without their hero, but he wasn't everyone's cup of tea. Germaine Greer once dismissed the series airily as 'tourist TV', presumably because it refused to be bossy or try to improve us, an objective close to the heart of so many unhappy females. I myself came late to the series (the early nineteen-nineties) and have been a fan ever since. Morse wasn't perfect. For all the guff about 'intelligent writing' it dropped quite a few clangers. In one episode the fusty old grammarian asks Lewis to keep him informed of developments in a case by saying, 'We'll have lunch and you can appraise of your findings'. Morse simply wouldn't say that. So why wasn't Colin Dexter allowed script approval?

Blunders - easily avoidable ones too - occurred in other episodes, on one occasion even blurring the proper distinction between 'infer' and 'imply'. This might sound petty, but Morse wouldn't think so - and isn't that the point? Fictional characters must have credibility. Schoolboy howlers don't help. Of course last night all the nit-picking was put to one side as we sat back, hoping against hope to be entertained by the team in the way we've come to expect. We were. As another reviewer points out, Lewis' character is here, of necessity, fleshed out, endowed with a depth a role as cipher for his old boss' deliberations and a few throwaway references to 'Val and the kids' could never achieve. The device employed - loss - proved an effective contrivance. Once there had been the loner - and lonely (he never got the girl) - Morse and the dedicated family man, his Sergeant. In this episode the understudy steps into the old man's shoes. Suddenly it is Lewis who is alone.

And it is Lewis who finds himself having to adjust to strange, possibly disagreeable policing methods and - ironically for a former IT enthusiast; recall his expression when Hathway casually uses a mobile to e-mail Chief Superintendent Innocent - constantly changing technology. Lewis has 'the kids' but they have 'grown and flown'. Lewis too now goes home to an empty house, just like his old boss. And like Morse he needs the job. The politics exasperate him but, without it, he wouldn't know what to do with himself. The casting in this episode is quite astute. Laurence Fox is excellent as Hathaway, a character presumably intended to represent the new breed of university-educated copper (socially sensitive but, here at least, without his modern counterpart's aversion to feeling collars that don't belong to errant motorists, who don't fight back as a rule, unlike real criminals). There is a nice, sympathetic turn from Claire Holman as the pathologist, while Jemma Redgrave is always convincing as Trudi, the woman haunted by the knowledge that much of the family's distress could have been avoided had she plumped for the simple expedient of not betraying her husband.

Rebecca Front is the inevitable female boss, Chief Superintendent Jean Innocent. We can put up with that because she's great looking. I mean you would wouldn't you lads? As usual the university architecture sets the tone for the piece (Jesus College, yes, but also some nice shots at the gates of Trinity Hall). But it is Michael Maloney, as Ivor Dennison, the utterly plausible maths professor with a disabled wife and a professional reputation to maintain, who steals the show. Maloney is a superb actor, and here he gives it all he has, staging a death scene that manages to be understated and attention-seeking all at the same time. And of course since his transgressions are slight we are naturally sympathetic throughout. After all he dispatches an objectionable student or two (as if there is another kind) and, albeit by mistake, a man who cuckolded the fellow who gave him a home and - a far worse offence in New Britain - happens to be very, very rich indeed. I'd make better sense of the programme if I could just understand where the crime is in all of this.... Was the above review useful to you?

5 out of 5 people found the following review useful: A worthy follow-up to Morse from Belgium 2 March 2008 Morse is dead and Lewis is retrieved so to say from the grave by explaining his long absence by a stay in a foreign country. The once more or less submissive assistant of the flamboyant inspector has changed. The death of his wife has marked him both physically and emotionally and he has become more mature. His new partner, a brilliant scholar who studied theology, is obviously more learned than Lewis who at times seems disturbed by the striking resemblance of his new colleague to his former superior. Lewis senses a form of intellectual superiority on the part of his aide and is determined not to revert to the former humiliating relationship he often experienced with Morse .It is also interesting to note that each time others refer to Morse, Lewis is rather reticent and never shows signs of real empathy towards his former boss as if he still seems to suffer from his haunting and domineering presence. The series is still too recent to evaluate as a whole although the first episodes seem promising enough to guarantee that this sequel to Morse will certainly meet the expectations of the followers of good detective fiction. Was the above review useful to you?

Page 1 of 2: Inspector Morse (TV Series 1987–2000) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error Inspector Morse has an ear for music, a taste for beer and a nose for crime. He sets out with Sergeant Lewis to solve each intriguing case. Stars: An ailing Morse involves himself in a year old cold murder case of a nymphomaniac is when persons of interest connected with it turn up dead. 8.7 When the head of a medical clinic is found asphyxiated in his garage, the father of a one of his brain-dead patients becomes the prime suspect. 8.5 Morse finds himself framed for murder by an unknown mastermind and suspended as Lewis is seconded to DCI Bottomley, who is in charge of the case.

8.4 a list of 26 titles created 15 Aug 2011 a list of 41 titles created 21 Apr 2012 a list of 38 titles created 02 Jan 2013 a list of 22 titles created 20 Jan 2013 a list of 36 titles created 3 weeks ago Search for " Inspector Morse " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Title: Inspector Morse (1987–2000) 8.1/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. 9 wins & 12 nominations. See more awards » Photos Inspector Robert Lewis and Sergeant James Hathaway solve the tough cases that the learned inhabitants of Oxford throw at them. Stars: Kevin Whately, Laurence Fox, Clare Holman DI Jack Frost is an unconventional policeman with sympathy for the underdog and an instinct for moral justice. Sloppy, disorganized and disrespectful, he attracts trouble like a magnet.

Stars: David Jason, Bruce Alexander, John Lyons Set in the 1960s, the show follows Endeavour Morse in his early years as a police constable. Working alongside his senior partner DI Fred Thursday, Morse engages in a number of investigations around Oxford. Stars: Shaun Evans, Roger Allam, James Bradshaw Inspector George Gently (TV Series 2007) Crime | Drama | Mystery With the help of DS John Bacchus, Inspector George Gently spends his days bringing to justice members of the criminal underworld who are unfortunate enough to have the intrepid investigator assigned to their cases. Stars: Martin Shaw, Lee Ingleby, Simon Hubbard Midsomer Murders (TV Series 1997) Crime | Drama | Mystery A veteran DCI and his young sergeant investigate murders around the regional community of Midsomer County. Stars: John Nettles, Jane Wymark, Barry Jackson British crime investigation series based around aristocratic, Oxford-educated Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and his working-class assistant Sergeant Barbara Havers.

Stars: Nathaniel Parker, Sharon Small, Lesley Vickerage With her caustic wit and singular charm, DCI Vera Stanhope and her trusted right-hand man DS Joe Ashworth face a series of captivating murder mysteries set against the breathtaking Northumberland landscape. Stars: Brenda Blethyn, Jon Morrison, David Leon 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.4/10 X As WW2 rages around the world, DCS Foyle fights his own war on the home-front as he investigates crimes on the south coast of England. Later series sees the retired detective working as an MI5 agent operating in the aftermath of the war. Stars: Michael Kitchen, Honeysuckle Weeks, Anthony Howell DCI Banks (TV Series 2010) Crime | Drama | Mystery The tenacious and stubborn DCI Banks unravels disturbing murder mysteries aided by his young assistants, DS Annie Cabbot and DI Helen Morton. Stars: Stephen Tompkinson, Jack Deam, Andrea Lowe Dalziel and Pascoe (TV Series 1996) Crime | Mystery | Drama Supt.

Dalziel and partner DI Pascoe investigate murders, and find a bond forming between them despite their blatantly differing personalities. Stars: Warren Clarke, Colin Buchanan, David Royle

Question: Who played Lewis in 'Morse' and also in its spin off 'Lewis'?
Answer: KEVIN WHATELY